


I Was Blind but Now I See (It Was Right There in Front of Me)

by aesthetic_shitpost



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Everyone Thinks They're Together, M/M, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Multi, Roommates, julie and nick are just mentioned but they do show up for 0.2 seconds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29264130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aesthetic_shitpost/pseuds/aesthetic_shitpost
Summary: Alex, Luke, and Reggie met in elementary school and haven’t been apart ever since, so when they graduate high school, of course they decide to get a place together. They’re working, trying to get the band off the ground, when they meet Julie, a girl with the voice of an angel. They convince her to join the band, and then it’s not long until she introduces them to her friends and they all start hanging out.And the boys are so close and so comfortable with each other that it’s just a no-brainer for everyone else to assume they’re dating.-prompt fill! roommates au and mistaken for a couple
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 126





	I Was Blind but Now I See (It Was Right There in Front of Me)

**Author's Note:**

> where-you-go asked: 12 (Roommates AU) and 63 (Everybody Knows/Mistaken for a Couple) for Alex/Luke/Reggie for the trope mash up ask game?
> 
> this was not meant to be a whole fic but i did write one. whoops ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> title from sign on the door by kasey chambers

Alex, Luke, and Reggie met in elementary school and haven’t been apart ever since, so when they graduate high school, of course they decide to get a place together. They’re working, trying to get the band off the ground, when they meet Julie, a girl with the voice of an angel. They convince her to join the band, and then it’s not long until she introduces them to her friends and they all start hanging out.

And the boys are so close and so comfortable with each other that it’s just a no-brainer for everyone else to assume they’re dating.

Why else would they all cuddle like that during movie night? Why else would Luke and Alex drop everything and rush to the hospital when Reggie breaks his arm? Why else would Luke and Reggie use up their sick days to take care of Alex when he’s having a bad time with his anxiety? Why else would they all steal each other’s clothes like they just have one big shared closet? Why else would they hug and say they love each other every time they’re in the same room?

Hell, one time Julie stayed over at their place and she swears that they all came out of the same room in the morning. And sure, their friends have never seen them kiss, but maybe they just don’t like that kind of PDA? (That doesn’t seem to fit with Luke and the amount he touches them anyway, but it’s not their place to speculate.)

This misconception goes on for a comically long amount of time. They’re over a year into their friendship when one night after a show a fan tries to hit on Luke. He politely and uncomfortably turns them down, and when they finally leave, he finds Flynn and Carrie beside him.

“Someone interested in the lead singer?” Flynn teases.

Luke sags against the bar. “Ugh, yeah. They did not want to leave me alone.”

“Why didn’t you just tell them you’re taken?” Carrie asks.

Luke blinks at her. “Um, because I’m not?”

Flynn and Carrie look at him wide-eyed, then give each other a look. “So you’re...  _ not _ dating Alex and Reggie?”

Luke chokes. “What? Of course I’m not! What?”

“Wait, so how long have you not been dating?” Flynn demands.

“Never! Always!  _ What?” _ Luke repeats. “Why the hell would you think we were dating?”

The girls shrug. “You just always acted like you were,” Carrie says.

“You cuddle all the time,” Flynn explains.

“And share clothes,” Carrie adds.

“And you spend all your time together,” Flynn continues.

“That’s all stuff friends do!” Luke exclaims.

Flynn gives him a look. “Luke, today i saw you slap both Alex and Reggie on the ass and wish them a good show.”

He can feel his face turning red. “That’s just — a friendly thing we do! We’re very secure in our sexualities.” It's almost like he’s trying to convince both his friends and himself.

“Sure,” Flynn says.

“Didn’t you guys have an anniversary dinner a few months ago?” Carrie asks.

“Yeah, for the anniversary of the band,” Luke explains.

“But Julie didn’t go,” She points out.

Luke shrugs uncomfortably. “She wasn’t in the band when we started it.”

“But she’s in the band now,” Flynn says.

“Yeah, but —” Luke cuts himself off with a frustrated sigh. “Look, we’re not dating, alright?”

Flynn holds up her hands and backs off, and she and Carrie let him change the subject to their weekend plans, which include work, rehearsal, and a dinner with Julie, Flynn, Nick, Carrie, and his boys. (That’s just his friends. There's nothing weird about having dinner with his friends at a nicer restaurant, Luke tells himself. His friends, who consist of two couples plus his two best friends/roommates. Nothing weird about that.)

_ (Oh god, _ Luke thinks to himself.  _ There might be something weird about that.) _

So Luke brings it up to Alex and Reggie the next day. None of them are ever awake before noon on days after gigs, having stayed out so late the night before. It’s as they’re groggily drinking coffee and eating the pancakes that Alex made that Luke says, “So apparently Flynn and Carrie thought we were dating.”

Alex chokes on his coffee. “They thought  _ what?” _

“That’s what I said!” Luke exclaims, pointing his fork at him. 

Reggie looks confused. “Why did they think we were dating?”

“I don’t know,” Luke says. “I guess most friends aren’t as close as we are?”

“I mean, you are wearing Luke’s shirt, Reg,” Alex points out. Reggie looks down at his (Luke’s) band t-shirt turned tank top.

“Oh,” he says. “I forgot this was yours, sorry.”

“It’s fine, Reg, I don’t mind.” Luke waves his hand dismissively. “We borrow each other’s clothes all the time. I’m wearing Alex’s old gym shorts.”

“And I think this is your shirt,” Alex says to Reggie. “I stole it a while ago to use as pajamas, it’s very soft.”

“It is very soft,” Reggie agrees absentmindedly. “Sharing clothes isn’t necessarily a couple thing, though.”

“No, of course not. I mean, we do it,” Luke says. “And  _ we’re _ not dating. That would be so weird, right?” He laughs nervously. 

Reggie laughs with him. “ _ So _ weird.”

“Yeah, dating you would be — ugh.” The silence goes on for just a second too long before Luke’s face colors as he rushes to correct himself. “Not that dating you would be bad! Or, uh — I’m sure you would be great boyfriends!” He yelps. “Just, uh, not with me! But I’m sure it would be good, um, just, it would be weird for us to be dating.”

“Would it, though?” Alex says quietly. Luke and Reggie turn to him in sync. Alex nervously licks his lips at having all their attention on him, but he continues. “I mean, what would really change?”

“Well, we would be dating, for one,” Reggie says. “Probably kissing and stuff.”

Alex waves a hand at him. “Other than that.”

“Going on dates?” Luke tries.

“Yes, but we already hang out all the time and work together and live together,” Alex says. “Like, we already do enough couple things that our friends thought we were together. We share clothes, we cuddle, we take care of each other, god, we even celebrated our anniversary,” he realizes. “And I don’t think any of us have had a long-term relationship in the past two years at least.”

Reggie shrugs. “I guess it just feels like… why would I want someone else,” he says, painfully earnest, “When I already have you?”

Luke is speechless. Alex and Reggie are right. He doesn’t need anyone else, hasn’t spared a thought for romance in years, and he told everyone it was because he was so focused on his music, on his band, but he sees now that he wasn’t just focused on his band for work. They’re everything to him, the dearest people in the world, and he loves them with his whole heart.

“I love you guys,” Luke whispers. 

Alex and Reggie smile back at him. “I love you too.”

Alex reaches out across the table and takes his hand, then does the same with Reggie. “I love you. Both of you. Romantically. And I want to date you for real.”

It’s not even a question in Luke’s head. All he’s thinking is  _ of course I want to,  _ so he gets up from his chair and kisses Alex. He gasps into Luke’s mouth, surprised, but quickly reciprocates, clutching Luke’s arms as if they’re the only thing tethering him to the ground. They break the kiss to find Reggie standing next to them, all but vibrating with excitement.

“Can I —” He starts, interrupted by Luke swooping in to kiss him. Reggie’s boundless enthusiasm leaks into the kiss, and Luke is exhilarated trying to keep up. They break apart, and Luke watches, grinning, and Reggie and Alex share their own kiss. 

“So I guess we’ll have some pretty big news to share at dinner tomorrow, huh?” Luke says with a shit-eating grin.

“I’m pretty sure it was meant to be a triple date, anyway,” Alex says. “Because they already thought we were dating, remember?”

“Fuck, dude, we should have been,” Reggie announces as he makes himself comfortable on Alex’s lap. “We’ve been missing out.”

“Yeah,” Luke agrees. “We’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.”

“Can we do that somewhere other than the kitchen table?” Alex groans, and the other two laugh. The rest of their day was spent on a considerably more comfortable surface.

(When they tell everyone at dinner that they finally got together, Carrie and Julie pass Flynn five dollars each, and Nick just looks confused. Luke, Alex, and Reggie have a lot of fun ragging on Carrie and Julie about “not believing in their love.” At the end of the dinner, Nick leans over to Alex, the calmest, most reasonable one of the bunch (not to mention the one he’s seated closest to), and asks, “So you weren’t dating? Since when?” 

Alex can’t give him an answer for a full minute because he’s laughing too hard.)

**Author's Note:**

> who are the two couples out of carrie, flynn, julie, and nick? you decide <3
> 
> talk to me on tumblr: aroacethetic-shitpost


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